KARACHI, April 11: For the last about two years, the Dawood College of Engineering and Technology, Karachi, has taken great strides towards improvement in its financial position as well as academic environment, said the Principal of the DCET in a statement issued here on Friday.

In the past, the college reputation suffered a great deal because of irregular admissions and appointments, the two major causes of disaffiliation of the DCET by the NED University and dis-accreditation by the Pakistan Engineering Council. Now, the college got itself affiliated with the Mehran University of Engineering and Technology, Jamshoro, and has also applied for re-accreditation with the PEC.

Shortage of faculty members is a difficulty faced by almost all institutions of advanced learning, nevertheless, the federal education ministry is seized with the matter, and, currently, the shortage is being met with the help of able visiting faculty.

Recently, the federal ministry of education has approved a PC-I amounting to Rs197 million for strengthening of academic infrastructure in the DCET which is proposed to be spent on laboratory equipment and teacher training programmes.

Through concerted efforts, the defaulting amount of Rs17.5 million was recovered and academic discipline has been restored by plugging leakages in funds, he claimed.

The previous principal of the college was sacked by the ministry of education and some of the present officers in the DCET are being investigated on charges of corruption and misuse of authority, he informed.

It is worth mentioning that for the first time in the past many years, the college has full four batches of students in place and the DCET is certainly on the road to recovery, he added.—PPI